Latest news with #JenniferMedlicott
CTV News
03-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Paws, protection and pet care
Paws, protection and pet care Jennifer Medlicott, Winnipeg Animal Services, shares how you can help pets like Yoshi find a home.
Winnipeg Free Press
23-06-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Animal Services asks for help building sensory garden
The City of Winnipeg is counting on dog lovers to make life easier for furry companions who end up in its shelter. Jennifer Medlicott, the communications co-ordinator at the Animal Services Agency, said there's a desperate need to create a sensory garden in the facility's outdoor play yards. The agency, at 1057 Logan Ave., generally houses more than two dozen dogs at a time. 'We're just looking for opportunities to make the lives of the animals in our care better and I just think we just saw an opportunity,' said Medlicott on Friday. 'We dream of a future where we have a large-scale transformation, but we were also trying to look at some short-term solutions and that's where the sensory garden came up.' RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Sebastian, a two-year-old American Bull Dog mix, runs over one of the enrichment structures at Animal Services. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Sebastian, a two-year-old American Bull Dog mix, runs over one of the enrichment structures at Animal Services. A sensory garden is an area designed to stimulate one or more of the five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. It incorporates trees, flowers, and any other elements in nature to help reduce stress. She said with the help of donors, the shelter plans to add fragrant, pet-friendly plants and greenery such as lavender, chamomile, marigolds, bushes and trees for the dogs to smell and explore while walking around the yard during a short respite from being in the shelter. Medlicott said the space is a much-needed upgrade to the four 200-square-foot play areas, which are relatively empty spaces covered in gravel and enclosed by brick fences. 'They're quite bland, to be quite honest,' she said. 'It's very beige and colourless and gives them very little opportunity to explore and look around. It needs a bit of an overhaul.' She said adding more colour, as well as a sandbox for the dogs to feel different textures under their feet, will help them enjoy their time outside more by running around, sniffing and digging. Medlicott said they would like to have a significant amount of the sensory garden completed by mid-July to make as much use of the nicer weather, but that a lot of the progress also depends on community support. 'We're playing it by ear a little bit, depending on the generosity of the public and maybe what comes out of this attention we're getting, but the sky is the limit,' said Medlicott. 'We're playing it by ear a little bit, depending on the generosity of the public and maybe what comes out of this attention we're getting, but the sky is the limit.'– Jennifer Medlicott, the communications co-ordinator at the Animal Services Agency 'Our agency will try and supplement the project as much as possible, but we know that Winnipeggers are very generous, especially when it comes to animals. We're just really open to whatever we receive.' The agency is encouraging people to donate supplies such as pots, topsoil and leftover plants people may have from their home gardens. Medlicott warns donors to make sure the plants are not poisonous, in case the dogs get curious and choose to chomp away at the leaves. She said they're accepting monetary donations online and some contributions have trickled in already. 'It's just super heartwarming just to see how much everybody values pets. And that's Winnipeg. It's really no surprise. Just full of really generous, loving people,' Medlicott said. 'It just speaks to everything we've already known, that Winnipeggers are just awesome.'
CTV News
20-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Winnipeg shelter calling for help to grow pet-friendly sensory garden
Winnipeg's Animal Services is asking for help making life a little easier for dogs in its care. Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual When four-legged guests at a city-owned animal shelter step outside for some fresh air, conditions are not exactly lush. 'The facilities are quite bland,' said Jennifer Medlicott, the community relations coordinator with Winnipeg's Animal Services Agency. She's not wrong. The play area is filled with gravel, surrounded by a brick wall and partitioned off with chain-link fence. Winnipeg Animal Services Agency The outdoor play area at the Winnipeg Animal Services Agency facility on Logan Avenue is captured on camera on June 19, 2025. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) There are a few flourishes, be it a refreshing wading pool or a climbable bridge. Still, Medlicott and the rest of the staff have a greener, more stimulating vision for the space - one she hopes generous Winnipeggers will help them bring to life. 'We just want to make the animals' time here as easy as possible, as enjoyable as possible, and one way of doing that is to enrich them in the yards when they're out here,' Medlicott explained. Winnipeg Animal Services Agency Tangela the pup climbs in the play area at the Winnipeg Animal Services Agency facility on Logan Avenue on June 19, 2025. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) The plan is to make over the space into a pet-friendly sensory garden. For those unfamiliar, Medlicott said it's exactly what it sounds like – an Eden of sorts filled with wonderful smells, colours, and textures designed for furry, four-legged friends to enjoy. To start, staff plan to add potted plants to the otherwise drab chain-link fence. They're hoping the public will help keep the garden growing, be it by donating soil, dog-friendly plants, extra pots or a monetary donation. Animal Services Agency Tangela the pup plays outside at the Winnipeg Animal Services Agency facility on Logan Avenue on June 19, 2025. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) Medlicott believes such a soothing environment will make a big difference for dogs and cats as they await their forever homes. 'In a kennel environment, the pets are quite stressed out,' she explained. 'When they're less stressed, they can meet their potential adopters and be in a lot better of a space.' Donations can be dropped off at the Animal Services Agency facility at 1057 Logan Avenue during adoption hours. Monetary donations can be made on the organization's website. - With files from CTV's Daniel Timmerman
